Daugherty: Cardinals' Jhonny Peralta signing irks Reds' fans

Nov. 26, 2013

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said the following in a press conference Monday morning: "I don't think it's the Cardinals responsibility necessarily to be the moral police on potentially future employment." / AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

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This Jhonny Peralta deal rubs raw your sense of fairness. It feels like he’s getting away with something, and the Cardinals are enabling the heist. Peralta, the erstwhile Detroit Tigers shortstop, spent 50 games watching baseball last summer, because he juiced. Now, of a fashion, that misstep is earning him $53 million from St. Louis, over the next four years.

Why stay clean?

Cheaters prosper, even if they get caught. What this might indicate to any player pondering living better chemically is, the risk is worth the reward. A few players have Tweeted exactly that. Pitcher David Aardsma:

“Apparently getting suspended for PED's means you get a raise. What's stopping anyone from doing it?’’

Fair point. Combine that with the natural competitiveness of elite athletes – and large egos and huge sums of money – and it’s easy to see how this could get messy. We wondered how many more home runs Ken Griffey Jr. might have hit – or, more to the point, how much more quickly he could have come back from big injuries – had he taken the Barry Bonds express.

Before we move to the topic of the Reds being outgunned again by big brother Looie, let’s breathe deeply and attempt some perspective. One: It doesn’t often occur that a very good player who also has admitted to PED use is a free agent in a year when the position he plays is in high demand across baseball.

There aren’t many shortstops worth signing. Several teams need a shortstop. That jacks up the market. The Cardinals weren’t aiding and abetting a juicer. They were filling a dire need.

Two: If the players are mad, the players can do something about it. They can insist that first-time offenders get more than a 50-game time detention. If they wanted to go full monty, they could argue in favor of a lifetime ban. No more play dates for you, little Jhonny. That seems unfair and excessive. But it would eliminate any future Jhonnys.

The players can also agree not to see collusion behind every board room door. If, say, owners decided collectively not to throw money at juicing free agents, there couldn’t be any outrage and/or lawsuits from the players association.

Beyond that, what’s the issue?

Peralta broke the rules, admitted to breaking them, and paid the price. He did his time, and now he’s a free man. What’s outrageous about that? Blame the rules, not the miscreant.

And really, if the Reds had signed him, would you be as incensed?

Speaking of. . . acquiring Brayan Pena and Skip Schumaker isn’t exactly a signal to local banner makers that “Reds World Champions 2014’’ should be their next big project. While the Cardinals were improving at shortstop, and in the outfield with the versatile and swift Peter Bourjos, the Reds were getting a couple useful names.

It speaks to the Cards’ astounding depth that they acquired two everyday-eight types while losing only third baseman David Freese and practically forgotten reliever Fernando Salas. Freese will be replaced by Matt Carpenter, an all star at second base in 2013. Salas won’t need to be replaced.

Does this make you anxious, RedsFan?

Obviously, there are miles to go before we weep. Walt Jocketty is still the same guy who delivered Mat Latos. The problem now is, the Reds don’t have the chips they had back then. The farm system has been plucked like a chicken.

They can try to move Brandon Phillips. But the world knows they’re efforting that. Plus, DatDude makes a lot of money, is seen by some as slipping offensively and isn’t regarded as Mister Team. The Reds would be foolish to allow personal motives to color any deal.

They can try to move Homer Bailey, who is in his last year of arbitration and hasn’t been receptive to a long-term deal. If they don’t plan to start Aroldis Chapman, they can offer him to any club dumb enough to think a shutdown closer is essential to success.

Beyond that, what?

Shin-Soo Choo is gone, as is the All In summer of 2013 his acquisition represented. Without prized kids or a lot of major league tradeables, the Reds own the look of regression. At least for the moment.

The Cardinals paid lots of money to get a very good hitting shortstop. He used PEDs and profited. Is that what makes you mad? Or is it that St. Louis got him?